Keep It Together, Lad
by Griffin Stone
Summary: The fight with Scroop doesn't go as smoothly, and Jim is badly injured. Stubborn boy that he is, though, he can't just sit back and let the pirates take all the treasure, can he? (Slight AU for more whumps.)
1. Fight Gone Wrong

**A/N: It only took two years, but I'm finally diving into the TP fandom with, what else? Whump! (Admit it, some of you were thinking amnesia, but nope. Not this time!)**

**It jumps right into the scene when Jim and B.E.N are sabotaging the ship, and Jim's about to float away into space. The AU of Jim getting hurt was inspired by one of the live-action Treasure Island movies, where Jim is injured when he goes onto the ship to cut the anchor.**

* * *

"Say hello to Mr. Arrow for me," Scoop sneered as his claw sawed slowly through the rope.

Thinking quickly, Jim climbed up -no, down, zero gravity was weird- the flag and grabbed the flagpole. Scroop snarled and abandoned the rope to recklessly throw himself at Jim.

Jim kicked himself toward the spider-man, shouting, "Tell him yourself!"

Jim soared over Scroop's head and pushed himself down his back. Something scraped his side and caught his leg, but Jim jerked free. He scrambled to grab the wooden pole and kicked Scroop away. There was a snap, and Jim quickly looked up.

Scroop had gone right into the flat with enough force to break the frayed rope. While Jim stared, Scroop ripped his way out of the flag. His sneer turned to confusion, then horror when he saw that he was drifting into space.

"No!" Mr. Scroop's scream faded as he vanished into the mist.

Jim stared after him, panting. Long after Scroop's voice faded, Jim finally blinked and turned his head down. He started to tug himself down the pole, then paused.

Something was wrong. His left leg felt odd and sluggish, but he put that to the adrenaline wearing off. It was the stabbing pain just under his ribs on that side that had him more concerned…

Before he could investigate, Jim's body suddenly grew heavy. His arms slipped as the gravity sent him falling back into the crow's nest. Habit of past falls brought his hands and feet down to break his fall.

As he struck the deck, his left leg slid out to the side, slamming his body onto the floor. A ragged scream ripped out of Jim's mouth when the impact sent a massive wave of pain up his body and darkened his vision.

Jim wasn't sure if he completely passed out, but he opened his eyes to see Morph hovering in his face. The little shapeshifter was chirping and cooing at Jim, eyes darting around.

"Hey, Morph," Jim said with a grunt. "It's okay. I just got the wind knocked out of me."

"Cannons disabled, Captain Jimmy, sir!" B.E.N. called from below.

"Good job, B.E.N.," Jim called down.

There was a short silence, then B.E.N. asked, "Are you okay, Jimmy?"

"I'm fine."

Ignoring B.E.N's protest that he didn't sound okay, Jim made himself sit up. A breathless cry escaped him and he clutched his side, which was warm and wet. Jim pulled his hand away to see blood on his palm. His eyes widened in alarm as he looked down.

There was a cut from his ribs clear down the his knees on his left side. It was mostly shallow, but the part above his hip was flowing blood. The cut was jagged on the side of his knee, which was keeping his leg from moving quite right.

Jim clamped the hand back to his side. "Uh… B.E.N.? I'm maybe not completely okay."

"What?! What happened, Jimmy?!" B.E.N. called, already panicking.

"I got cut!" Jim yelled down. "Listen, I need you to find the infirmary and get some bandages."

"Oh, Jimmy, how bad is it?! You can't die!"

"I might if that bucket of bolts doesn't hurry," Jim muttered to Morph. Louder, he called down, "I'll be fine, just get some bandages, okay?"

Jim heard B.E.N.'s flustered yelping, then he was gone. Hopefully, the nervous robot would be able to quickly find what he needed.

"Okay, Morph," Jim said, gritting his teeth. "Here goes nothing."

Jim reached up and grabbed the edge of the railing with his left hand, keeping his right firmly against his side. He dragged himself up, gasping and panting, to stand on his right foot. Blinking hard against the spots dancing across his vision, Jim leaned against the railing.

When the ground finally stopped spinning, Jim took a deep breath. He braced himself against the railing and slid his right leg over it, letting all his weight rest dangerously on his right hip. His left arm, shaking much more than it should have been, kept him balanced as Jim maneuvered himself onto the rigging.

Jim couldn't remember climbing down, but he somehow found himself sitting on the deck. He leaned tiredly against the mast, trying to breathe steadily against the pulsing pain.

Morph cooed and burrowed into Jim's hair. He couldn't help, but Jim appreciated his concern.

Hesitantly, Jim dragged his gaze down to his side. His hand was coated with blood, and he was… already sitting in a puddle of red. Everything started to blur and spin. Jim laid his head back, wondering where B.E.N was and if it would hurt to just close his eyes for a bit...

"Jimmy!"

Jim startled, eyes snapping open. B.E.N. was hovering right in his personal space.

"B.E.N," Jim grunted, raising a hand to push him away. "Did you get the bandages?"

B.E.N babbled something about bandages and locked doors and no medicine, but he did hold up roles and roles of white bandages that Jim thought might have been overkill.

"Okay," Jim interrupted. "Give them to me, and I'll wrap this up."

B.E.N held the bandages out of reach. "No, no, Jimmy, just hold still. I've got this."

Jim managed a smirk. "You're a doctor?"

"Nooo," B.E.N drew out the word while unrolling the bandages. "But I have experience from Captain Flint's crew! They never could keep a doctor on board. Did you know that pirates tend to shoot things that cause them pain?"

Jim blinked. "What?" He hissed when B.E.N lifted his shirt and pressed a wad of cloth to his bleeding side.

"Sorry!" B.E.N started wrapping a long bandage around Jim's middle. "No, it's true. Doctors know better than to join a pirate's crew. Of course, sometimes pirates don't look like pirates-"

"I'll say," Jim muttered.

"So I picked up a few things, and made the rest up as I went along and-"

"B.E.N."

The robot looked up from wrapping the bandages. "Yes, Jimmy?"

"You're rambling."

The wires poking out of B.E.N's head sparked. "Oh, right, silly me! Don't worry, Jimmy, we'll have you fixed up in no time!"

Before Jim could respond, B.E.N pulled the bandages tight. Jim hissed and clenched forward.

"Jimmy! Sorry, I didn't mean-"

Jim cut him off by raising a hand. "Just finish it," he hissed.

B.E.N made some other nervous noises, but finished wrapping the bandage around Jim's middle. Without stopping, he continued wrapping past Jim's hip and down his leg until the whole gash was covered. He then found himself with a loose end of cloth, but Morph easily remedied this by morphing into an oversized safety pin.

"Thanks, you two," Jim said with a slight smile.

Now that he wasn't steadily losing blood and the initial shock was wearing off, Jim was able to focus again. He looked at the still-dark sky, and wondered if he had time to rest.

Jim shook his head. It was too risky to stay put. If any of the pirates found their skiff missing, they'd storm B.E.N's home. Delbert and the captain would be defenseless.

Stifling a groan, Jim leaned forward and shifted to kneel on his good knee.

"I really don't think-" B.E.N started.

Jim scowled. "We need to make sure Dr. Delbert and the captain are okay."

"But-"

"B.E.N."

B.E.N sighed. He helped Jim stand, but complained the whole time. Jim ignored him, focusing on limping to the side of the deck where they had left the skiff. Getting into the skiff was a whole new mess, and the pair basically tumbled into the skiff with enough bumps and thumps that Jim was glad that the _Legacy_ was empty just then.

"Alright, where to, Jimmy?" B.E.N asked, trying to get Jim to sit in the middle of the skiff.

Jim held himself up on the skiff's sides. "I'm flying."

"Jimmy, I must insist that I fly," B.E.N argued. "What if you get dizzy?" He suddenly leaned closer to Jim. "Do you see one or two of me?"

Jim shoved him away. "My vision's fine."

"I don't know. You passed out on deck and-"

"I didn't pass out," Jim said. "I was just resting my eyes."

The safety pin on his leg made a disbelieving raspberry sound.

"See?" B.E.N said.

"Do you even know how to fly this?" Jim asked skeptically.

"Well, yeah! You just…" B.E.N stared at the controls that, to him, were impossibly advanced.

"I'm flying," Jim said in finality, half-dragging B.E.N so he could sit at the controls.

"Jimmy!" B.E.N protested.

Jim ignored him once again, focusing on firing up the skiff to distract him from the pain in his side. He urged the skiff forward with a caution that he hadn't used since… well, ever. He told himself it was because B.E.N was still standing and he didn't want to dump the poor robot.

Jim eased his way toward B.E.N's home. As he soared as near to the pirates' camp as he dared, he glanced down. There were lumps still laying around the campfire remains, but Jim couldn't spare the time to give the camp a closer inspection. Despite what he'd told B.E.N, he was starting to feel dizzy as the last of the adrenaline wore off.

The skiff jolted to the ground near B.E.N's house, where B.E.N pointed out another trapdoor. Jim flinched at the impact, letting go of the controls to wrap his arms around himself.

"Jimmy?"

"I'm fine."

Jim made himself stand, and was just glad when his vision didn't blur or fuzz. It didn't make his body hurt any less, but at least he could see when he climbed out of the skiff.

Jim accepted B.E.N's help down the trapdoor and across wobbling catwalks, but climbed the ladder to the "back door" alone with growing excitement. Delbert and the captain would be so happy to see that he had the map and a skiff! They could fly away and be safe from the pirates.

No one seemed to be awake when Jim entered the house and leaned against the ball. They'd let the candles go out, but Jim could see a lump against the wall where he'd last seen Delbert.

"You okay, Jimmy?" B.E.N asked as he popped up beside the boy.

Waving him off, Jim pushed away from the ball. He limped hurriedly across the room and dropped to his knees with a pained huff in front of the doctor.

"Doc," Jim whispered, leaning stiffly to the side to find the map in his pocket. "Doc, I got the map."

The lump moved as Jim pulled out the map and proudly held it out. There was a pause. Then a mechanical hand that was definitely _not_ Delbert's dropped over the map. A sneering face leaned into the dim moonlight.

"Thank you, lad," Silver said mockingly.

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**A/N: I did away with Silver's accent because I know if I'd tried, it would have been way too exaggerated. **

**Updates each Monday!**


	2. Stubborn Boy

**A/N: J****ust saying. The Captain is impossible to write, so she's just kind of glaring in the background the whole time. XD**

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Silver had been furious when he woke up to find that not only had the night watch fallen asleep, but their skiff was missing as well! He had roused the crew and they had rushed the robot's hideout.

Surprisingly, they had found the doctor and captain. They were in the process of clearing out, but it had been easy to overwhelm the pair of them. Silver had wondered where Jim was, when the light of the skiff had been spotted. Silver had shooed the crew and captives into the woods, then crouched in the shadows to wait.

Then, an innocent-looking massive ball in the back of the structure rotated to reveal a hidden entrance and a lanky frame that had been unmistakably Jim hauled himself into the structure. A limp that Silver knew hadn't been there earlier in the day had marked Jim's walk, but he'd gone right up to Silver and held up the map. Silver could have laughed at how easy Jim had made retrieving the map, but had settled for a sneer.

Silver expected anger once Jim fully realized what had happened. He hoped for maybe a bit of fear, to make up for all the frustration he had caused Silver. He braced himself to go after the boy once he made a run for it.

Silver got none of those.

Before the shock could fade from his face, Jim went sheet white. His eyes rolled up and he fell limply forward.

Silver was too shocked to move. Jim fell flat on his face in front of the cyborg with barely a groan.

"Jimmy!" someone squawked.

Silver looked up. The rusty robot that had so helpfully given away the hiding place of Jim and the others earlier in the day was poised halfway across the room, frozen as he stared at Silver with wide eyes. Silver quickly decided to ignore him in favor of checking Jim. Insolent whelp that Jim was, Silver didn't like to see him unconscious.

"Captain?" came a tentative voice from the main entrance.

Silver glared at Turnbuckle peering in. "Bring in the doctor."

The pirate nodded and ducked out of sight. Silver shoved the map into his pocket and knelt beside Jim.

Jim's left pantleg was sliced open, and his leg was bandaged. When Silver turned Jim carefully onto his back, he noticed more bandages under his untucked shirt. Blood darkened his clothes and was bleeding through the bandages around his middle.

"What sorta scrap did you get into this time?" Silver muttered.

Something ran into Silver's side. Though it wasn't enough to even budge him, Silver shot an irritated glare at the rusted robot wobbling to his feet.

"Back off, if you want to help Jim," Silver spat.

The robot's eyes flickered. Silver couldn't be sure if he was thinking or malfunctioning, but he did back off. At the same time, there was the sound of flustered babbling as the doctor was forced into the hideout.

"I must stay with the captain. If you harm one fur on her head, I'll-" the doctor turned and noticed the limp form on the ground. "Jim!"

Delbert ran to Jim and knelt beside him. His hands ran down the boy's frame as he studied the bloody clothing and bandages. After a moment, he lifted his head. Silver was startled by the fury in Delbert's eyes. He was practically vibrating in anger, ears pressed flat in a rare show of aggression.

"What did you do to him?!" the doctor growled.

"I didn't do anything!" Silver said defensively. "He just popped in here like that!"

Delbert obviously didn't believe him, and Silver didn't bother continuing to defend himself. He gestured to the unconscious Jim.

"Can you help him?"

Delber muttered something about a useless doctorate, but bent over Jim. He undid the suspiciously shaking safety pin to carefully unwind the bandages. He inhaled sharply when he uncovered the ragged gash on the side of Jim's leg. Only years of seeing injuries kept Silver from reacting as the swollen, red leg oozing blood.

"What happened, B.E.N?" Delbert asked, looking at the robot.

"I-I don't know," the B.E.N -an old, old model, Silver noticed- stammered.

The "safety pin" that had been set aside quivered and formed a pair of eyes. When Morph saw Silver watching him, he went to his normal blobby self and floated over Jim. He morphed into a miniature Scroop and flailed his tiny claws.

Silver scowled. He'd left the pirate to guard the _Legacy_ for the very reason of keeping him away from Jim. And here Jim had gone and faced off against him! Although…

"Where's Scroop now?" Silver asked gruffly.

Delbert scowled at him, while B.E.N and Morph just looked uncertain.

"Gone," said a raspy voice.

The group looked down to see that Jim had regained consciousness. He stared up at Silver with a challenge in his eyes.

"You never could pick your fights," Silver said, standing. He turned toward the entrance, where Turnbuckle was still standing. "Get the other captive and tell the rest of the crew to get in here!"

Turnbuckle dashed out of sight. Silver clomped to the entrance, watching silently as Delbert and B.E.N helped Jim lean against the wall. B.E.N had retrieved a needle and thread at some point, and Delbert set about stitching up Jim's wounds. Angry yelling drew Silver's attention a moment later.

"I can walk on my own, you galalumping galoots!"

Silver had to say, the captain was very polite in her insults. Although, he wasn't sure yet what a galoot was. He watched with a wry grin as Amelia was "helped" into the house by a firm hand on either shoulder, then pushed toward Delbert, Jim, and B.E.N.

Amelia fell silent when she saw Jim. She whirled and drew herself up, ears flat and mouth drawn in a disapproving line. She quivered from whatever injury had her groaning and moving slowly during her capture, but remained straight.

"What have you done?" Amelia asked coldly.

"Don't talk to the captain like that!" Grewnge growled, shoving Amelia.

Amelia stumbled back, lacking her usual grace, and sat heavily. Delbert quickly wrapped a protective arm around her, holding the needle poised over Jim's side in his free hand.

"I do wish you lot would stop blaming me for the boy's foolishness," Silver said in exasperation. He turned to his crew and held up the map. "Now, to get what we came for!"

The pirates cheered raucously. Silver, grinning in triumph, put his flesh hand on top of the map and twisted.

Nothing happened.

Still smiling, Silver twisted it the other way. Nothing. He twisted harder, scowling with effort while the crew's cheering faded. Undeterred, Silver swapped his mechanical hand for the tiny pincers, which only skittered uselessly across the map's smooth surface. Silver muttered a curse and swapped to the clamp to squeeze the map and twist as hard as he could.

Eventually, Silver gave up and stared at the map, panting slightly. He was about ready to throw the blasted thing across the room, when a snort from behind caught his attention. He spun to glare at Jim.

Jim, messily stitched up and pale, smirked up at the pirate. "That's not how you open it."

"Jim!" hissed Delbert, who was wiping both their hands on some old cloth.

How would Jim know? Maybe he'd lost too much blood and was delirious, Silver briefly wondered.

Then it hit him. Jim had been the one to find the map and, when the mutiny had become clear, Jim had been the one in charge of the map. Why hadn't Amelia kept it on herself?

Because the map was useless in the hands of anyone but Jim.

Silver tossed the map to the boy, who made no move to catch it. The map fell into his lap, but Jim's eyes remained on Silver.

"Open it," Silver growled.

Jim snorted again and made no move to follow the order. Silver snarled and swapped his clamp hand for the laser rifle. Rather than point it at Jim -Silver doubted it would have changed anything- he pointed the rifle at the captain and Delbert.

Amelia drew herself up and glared. Delbert attempted to mimic her, but he was obviously shaking. Jim's expression didn't change.

Silver cocked his rifle and wondered if a warning shot at the doctor was in order. His motions were halted, however, by a clicking sound.

Jim had picked up the map without Silver noticing. Still glaring, he pressed and harshly twisted the map. Parts of the map sunk into the surface, then glowing green lights streamed from it.

Silver stared at the holographic image of Treasure Planet formed the air. The pirates murmured in awe.

"By the powers that be, would you look?" Silver whispered, distracted from his prisoners.

After a moment, the image disintegrated and condensed into a bright ball of green over Jim's head. Then, a stream of light flew out of the ball and out the entrance. Silver hobbled to the entrance and looked out at the stream racing away to some destination. Finally!

"Tie them up," Silver said over his shoulder. "We'll leave them here til-"

The light stream abruptly faded, then retreated back into the room. Silver spun to follow its path… right back into the map.

Jim stared at the now dark map in his stained hand, then lifted his head. His blue eyes focused on Silver with a gleam of challenge.

"You want the map?" Jim asked, voice stronger than Silver thought it would have been. "You have to take me, too."

Silver found anger rising up in him. He scowled at Jim and ground his teeth. Personally, he didn't want the boy to die. If he had stayed quiet, Silver could have left the captives marooned on the planet. It would be years -if ever- before they could be rescued, but at least he -they- would be alive!

Silver shook his head, anger turning to a grim amusement. How had he expected Jim to just sit back and let the pirates take the treasure he'd traveled halfway across the universe to retrieve? He was reminded once again of himself, years ago…

Silver allowed himself a brief smile. Jim was the only one to not shift back at his change in expression; even the pirates took a step back. He met Jim's eyes, challenge for challenge.

"We'll take them all," Silver declared.

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**A/N: Not even losing a bunch of blood can keep Jim down! Which... probably isn't a good thing.**


	3. Escape Plans

**A/N: Writing this A/N a day late, but it's actually on time because I forgot and posted a day early! Oy. Anyway, I couldn't get an AN yesterday, because I didn't have a convenient keyboard.**

**I haven't mentioned this before, but this story does really follow the same plot as the movie. Some scenes (like this chapter) will mirror the movie, but others will vary in the exact course of events and the ending is vastly different. I tried to flesh out the "missing parts" behind scenes.**

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Jim remained silent when he was roughly tossed into the front of the skiff. One hand squeezed the map so hard that his knuckles turned white at the pulling on the doctor's hasty stitches, but he refused to give the pirates the satisfaction of knowing that they'd hurt him.

B.E.N scrambled up to sit beside Jim, keeping a wary eye on Silver when the pirate heaved himself up to stand in front of Jim. Delbert and Amelia were forced to sit in the middle of the skiff, under the guard of Turnbuckle. Morph was a shivering lump in Jim's pocket.

Once the skiff was moving, Jim waited for Silver to turn to face forward and the pirates to focus on the pulsing light leading the way. Only then did he dare glance at his bandages. He breathed a sigh of relief at the lack of blood.

Jim didn't entirely have a plan on what to do once they found the treasure. If he was lucky, the pirates would be too distracted by the treasure to notice their captives slip off. Once they were free of the pirates, well… he'd go from there.

Jim turned his attention ahead. They were flying over an odd forest of twisted trees and lush grass. The map's light, which had a yellow pulse of light running through it that sped up the further they went, led straight across the forest.

Eventually, Silver called for the skiff to halt. They landed in the midst of a dense mass of the bamboo-like fungus that covered a fair amount of the planet.

Silver swung to the ground with a heavy thump. He waved impatiently. "Jimbo."

Jim climbed over the edge before any of the pirates could toss him out. He dropped as lightly as he could to the ground, taking the impact on his right leg and crouching. He inhaled sharply at the twinge of pain, but was able to stand.

B.E.N ducked under Hands' arms and tumbled to the ground. Silver turned at the clatter and scowled. Jim tensed.

"The robot can come," Silver said. He stepped closer to press his rifle an inch from B.E.N's face. "But only to keep the boy moving. No funny business, got it?"

B.E.N nodded so hard that something in his head started rattling. He chuckled nervously and stopped nodding, then smacked himself in the head. He nodded once more, the rattle gone.

Silver sighed and turned away. "Grewnge, you stay here with the other two. The rest of you, move!"

Jim glanced up at Delbert and Amelia, tied back-to-back in the skiff. Delbert watched him worriedly, and Jim couldn't keep his frown off his face. With the two of them under guard on the skiff, it would be harder to make a run for it.

Chittering from his pocket made Jim look down at Morph's hiding place. The little blog peered out fearfully.

Jim patted Morph with his free hand. "It's okay, Morph. It's okay."

The pirates were moving forward, so Jim grabbed B.E.N and kept him close by leaning on the robot's shoulder. He didn't actually need help walking, but it would keep B.E.N close. B.E.N took his role seriously, and put a supportive arm around Jim.

That didn't stop him from worrying aloud, though.

"I don't know about you, Jimmy," B.E.N whispered. "But I can see my life flashing before my eyes." He waved his free arm to emphasize his point, then drew it back with a frown. "At least, I think it's my life."

Before Jim could react, B.E.N had let go of him to clutch at his head. He started babbling and flailing his limbs, and his loose wires sparked.

"Have I ever danced with an android named Lupe?!" B.E.N demanded of nobody.

Jim quickly hushed him and jerked him back to his side. "This isn't over yet."

B.E.N clamped his mouth shut, thankfully silent once again, and retook his role of helping Jim.

The group approached a particularly dense section of the fungus. Overhead, the pulse had become so rapid that the stream was almost nonstop yellow. The pirates started to murmur excitedly, crowding close to Silver.

Jim nudged B.E.N and jerked his head slightly toward the skiff. B.E.N nodded, and the pair started to slide away from the pirates.

A smooth _shing_ of metal on metal made Jim freeze and jerk around, but Silver's attention wasn't on him.

"Come on, lads!" Raising his prosthetic, which was now a sword, Silver yelled, "I smell treasure awaiting!"

The pirates roared in pleasure. Jim was about to step further away, when Silver's eyes found him. The old pirate lurched forward and grabbed the front of Jim's shirt. Jim was jerked forward, away from B.E.N and forced to limp alongside Silver with B.E.N scrambling to keep up. Silver sliced his way into the fungus.

A couple dozen feet into the plants, Silver's sword sliced into open air. A flourish of his sword, and the path was completely open to reveal…

Nothing.

Jim gaped alongside the pirates at the empty length of stone in front of them. The flat ground extended about twenty feet, then dropped steeply into a massive valley. The beam of light led to the cliff's edge, then simply ended. There wasn't any sort of door, building, or anything vaguely resembling a place to hide treasure.

"I see nothing!" Onus yelped, breaking the silence. "One big stinkin' heap of nothing!"

Jim felt sick, and it didn't help with the map's stream of light broke down and streamed back into the map. Silver whirled to glare at him. Jim hurriedly pressed the sequence of buttons on the map, but it refused to twist open for him.

"What's going on, Jimbo?" Silver demanded, his cyborg eye turning a dangerous red.

Jim looked quickly away from Silver and continued to twist the map. "I don't know! I-I can't get it open."

The pirates began shuffling and grumbling angrily. Hands voiced their thoughts.

"We never should have followed this _boy!_"

The last word was emphasized by a sharp shove from behind. Taken by surprise, Jim stumbled and fell on his stomach.

Pain shot through Jim, causing an unconscious yelp to escape and making his vision blur briefly. Panting, he shook his head and pushed himself shakily to his elbows. While the pirates stomped and yelled gruesome punishment ideas, Jim found his attention drawn to the ground.

It wasn't stone, like he'd first thought. Like B.E.N's secret tunnels, the ground was solid metal, covered in moss. No wonder it was so flat. Well, except for the divot that his elbow sunk into…

Jim blinked and looked under his elbow. There was a shallow hole in the ground, perfectly round and exactly the same size as the map still clutched in his hand.

Rising to his knees, Jim scraped away the moss, revealing old carvings. The hole was clearly intended to be there, and had carvings inside that were the same as the map's.

Jim held the map over the hole, then hesitated. Could he wait for the pirates to leave, then escape and come back? If possible, Jim still wanted the keep the pirates from the treasure.

"Let's throw him off the cliff!"

The yell from behind made Jim realize he didn't have any choice. He shoved the map into the hole.


	4. BEN Gets His Mind Back

**A/N: So... this entire story was supposed to be done before I started... that's what I get for setting a deadline. I've got one more chapter ready, and hopefully I can get the rest written soon!**

**Response to backfromthedead: Thanks! I always love it when people love my stories as much as me! 0w0**

* * *

Silver had his hands full with his crew. Whatever had caused the map to vanish, he doubted Jim had done it. The boy was too afraid of something happening to Delbert and the captain to try anything.

Try to explain that to a bunch of pirates who were practically in reach of treasure, though.

As the pirates advanced, Silver's mind raced. Despite everything, he still didn't want Jim dead. But he couldn't order the crew away without them figuring him out; then where would he be?

"Let's throw him off the cliff!" Hands yelled.

Silver swapped his sword for the mechanical hand and raised both hands, a half-organized argument that Jim was still needed on his lips, when the ground shuddered. A green glow appeared under Jim and spread across the ground, lighting up carvings Silver hadn't noticed until then.

The pirates fell silent and Jim fell backward on his butt as a glowing form appeared from the ground. The form quickly took the shape of a sphere, glowing green and covered with images of planets.

Jim, mouth gaping, slowly stood. Silver eyed the boy as he reached toward the sphere, then a distant boom distracted him.

On the valley floor, a half-dozen lights appeared and raced to the cliff's bottom, where they merged together. A beam of light shot hundreds of feet into the sky, so bright and close that Silver took a step back. The beam opened up, wider along the bottom to form a massive triangle. Inside the triangle, the image of a nebula appeared.

"Oh, have mercy," Silver said, feeling like he needed to sit down.

"The Lagoon Nebula?" Jim said, sounding more confused than shocked.

"But that's…" Silver put a hand to his chin, "That's halfway across the galaxy!"

"A big door… opening and closing," Jim mumbled to himself as he poked images on the sphere, causing the triangle to go briefly dark before showing a new world or area of space.

Silver scowled at him, but Jim didn't notice.

"Montressor Spaceport," Jim said with a grin, poking the miniature image of the famous spaceport.

Inside the triangle, the view changed to show space with Montressor Spaceport right in the center. Silver took a step back.

"That's how Flint did it," Jim said, poking more images to change the view. "He used this… portal to travel all over the universe, stealing treasure!"

Silver growled impatiently. He grabbed a fistful of Jim's shirt and shoved him back. Ignoring Jim's grunt -probably in annoyance- Silver took Jim's place.

"But where'd he stash it all?" Silver demanded, rapidly changing the portal's destination through planets familiar and unfamiliar. "Where's that blasted treasure?"

When no obvious hiding place was revealed, Silver swiped his mechanical hand through the sphere. The portal seemed to glitch before settling on the Kerian Abyss. Silver grit his teeth and whirled on Jim, only to hesitate.

Jim was flat on the ground, fists clenched and twitching ever so slightly toward his bandaged side. He glared up at Silver, but the old pirate could see the tension in his jaw.

Silver bit back a curse at himself. In his anger, he'd forgotten than Jim was injured!

Silver moved quickly enough that no one noticed that he'd changed targets to B.E.N. The robot was crouched beside Jim, but jumped to his feet when Silver jabbed a finger in his face.

"You weren't on the _Legacy_ during the trip, so you must've already been here. Who brought you? Treasure hunters?" Silver demanded.

B.E.N gave an uncertain smile. "Sort of?"

"What sort of answer is that?" Silver asked.

"Well, I was brought here by treasure hunters, but the original treasure hunters. Not the ones hunting for Flint's treasure, because why would Flint be searching for his own treasure?" B.E.N rambled. "Unless he forgot, kind of like I forgot where he hid it, although I think I do know…"

Silver stared at the robot. "You're saying… that _you_ were Flint's navigational unit?"

"...yes?"

"Then how in blue blazes don't you know where his treasure is?!" Silver exploded.

B.E.N swiveled and pointed to the wires poking from a hole in his head. "I'm missing my primary memory circuit. Now, you're probably wondering how I lost something like that, and the thing is… well, if I knew, then I wouldn't be missing it! You haven't happened to see it, have you?"

Silver's one consolation was that the crew had forgotten their earlier anger to snicker at the oblivious robot.

"Anything helps," Silver said flatly.

B.E.N turned back to him. "About what?"

Silver grit his teeth. "About the treasure!"

"Ah, the treasure!" B.E.N yelped, ignoring when Jim sat up and tried to pull him down. "It's buried in the… the centroid of the mechanism!"

Silver's eyes narrowed. Jim was scowling at B.E.N, but then his expression turned thoughtful.

"What're you thinking, Jimbo?" Silver asked.

Jim's scowl returned, directed at Silver now. Silver almost sighed, wanting to tell Jim that he could have stayed behind and out of this mess if he hadn't been so stubborn. Silver crossed his arms to await a response. Surprisingly, it came.

"What if…" Jim ran a hand across the ground, then held onto B.E.N to slowly stand. "This planet _is_ the mechanism? And the treasure is buried in the middle of this planet!"

A moment's silence fell after Jim's announcement. Then the crew sprang into action, ripping at the stone with claws and picks.

_Clang!_

Silver stared at Turnbuckle's pick, which had crumpled upon striking the ground with the sound of metal on metal… Perhaps Jim wasn't so far off with his guess. What better place for Flint to hide his treasure than on the planet that no one had ever been able to find? Of course, that still didn't explain how they would actually reach the "centroid."

Silver spun back to the sphere, focusing his growing frustration on it. "Well, how in blue blazes are we supposed to get there?!"

A hand grabbed the sleeve of Silver's jacket, then Jim stepped in beside Silver. When Silver glanced at him, Jim's attention was on the sphere.

"By pressing the right door," Jim said simply.

Jim reached out, hand steady despite the fact that he still held onto Silver's jacket. Jim's finger hovered over the map, then pressed the image of Treasure Planet, causing the portal to change.

Instead of a view of Treasure Planet from space, Silver was confronted with a dark ceiling of the stone-like metal. Huge silver nozzles dangled like stalactites, a few spitting purple energy while Silver watched.

Jim stepped away from Silver and stuck his arm into the portal. His expression curious, Jim walked fully into the portal, causing his form to become blurry.

Before Jim could wander off, Silver thrust his own hand through the portal and clamped it down on Jim's arm. Silver then stepped off the cliff into what should have been open air, but found his feet on solid metal. He went all the way through, and found himself suddenly standing in the cavern.

Jim was staring at his hands, but he looked quickly up when Silver emerged beside him. His scowl was brief and distracted, almost an automatic response by that point. Silver shrugged it off and stepped ahead, then froze. He heard the crew bumbling in behind him, then they froze with a startled gasp.

Gold and jewels, starting at the end of the small platform on which they stood, spread out before them. The entire core of the planet was covered in treasure!

Most of the pirates yelled greedily and leaped into the treasure, but Silver could only stare. A lifetime of searching, and he'd finally found it…

"The loot of a thousand worlds," Silver whispered.

* * *

Jim recovered from his shock quickly. He stood still as the pirate crew jumped down to admire -in other words, pick up, throw, stare at, and even kiss- the treasure. Silver was more composed, but he did slowly walk away, leaving Jim alone.

"This all seems very familiar," B.E.N mumbled. "But I-I can't figure out why."

Ignoring the robot, Jim glanced behind him, wondering if he could make a run for the skiff. With surprise on his side, he thought he could free Delbert and the captain. He started to turn, then hesitated when his eyes fell on an old ship sitting on a pile of treasure nearby.

Flint's pirate ship. One of the fastest -if not _the _fastest- ships in history, small enough to vanish quickly into space. Also filled with treasure.

Jim glanced at Silver, but the old cyborg was kneeling in treasure and staring at a handful. He tapped B.E.N's shoulder to get his attention.

"Come on, we're getting out of here," Jim murmured, jutting his head toward Flint's ship. "And we're not leaving empty-handed."

"B-but, Jimmy!" B.E.N protested, but he followed. "Wait!"

Jim noticed that he kept looking up and flinching when one of the large nozzles let out a blast of energy into a carefully placed metal well nearby.

When they were nearly to the ship, Jim's feet skid sideways on a pile of coins. Jim grunted and flailed for balance, then B.E.N jumped under his arm. With the robot's help, Jim steadied himself. He glanced back, but the pirates hadn't noticed a thing.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Jimmy?" B.E.N fretted. "You can barely walk!"

"I just slipped, keep your voice down," Jim hissed. He realized that he had wrapped his free arm around his pulsing side, and made himself lower it. "I'm fine. I'll be even better when we get off this pirate infested planet with our own share of treasure."

Jim pulled away from B.E.N and kept walking to prove his point. After a second, he found his arm pressed against his side again. He blew out a slow breath. Something had torn when he slipped, he could feel it. He looked down, but the bandage was still showing no signs of blood.

"It's not just you," B.E.N went on, his metal feet clattered against the coins and jewels. "It's this whole place. It doesn't feel right."

"No?" Jim murmured.

"Do you know what's strange?" B.E.N continued to babble. "I can't tell you how frustrating this is."

"Uh-huh." Jim stopped and stared up the side of Flint's ship. "Give me a boost."

"There's something that's just," B.E.N went on, leaning against the ship's side so Jim could climb up his frame, "It's nagging at the back of my mind."

Jim scrambled over the railing, hitting the deck harder than he meant. Pressing his face against the ancient wood, Jim groaned and tried to breathe evenly.

"Jimmy?"

Jim glanced up to see B.E.N clinging to the railing. How'd he gotten up so fast? A second later, he had to roll to the side when B.E.N toppled inside.

"B.E.N-" Jim hissed, hands slipping on gold coins as he struggled to stand. He turned to help the robot, then froze when his eyes fell on a figure across the deck. "Captain Flint?"

B.E.N. popped to his feet. "In the flesh!"

Jim wondered if B.E.N was malfunctioning again, because the figure draped across the gold chair was a _skeleton_ dressed in the tatters of what must have once been fine clothing.

Jim had heard the legends of Captain Flint, and had always wondered how true the descriptions of what he looked like had been. This skeleton had too many ribs, too many eye sockets, and a large muzzle-like face with too many sharp teeth.

B.E.N was rambling about Captain Flint's lack of "skin, muscles, or anything resembling flesh as Jim crept forward. Jim walked carefully up the mound of coins on which the throne-like chair perched. He squinted at the skull sneering at him, then his eyes traced down the pirate's remains. Captain Flint's hands were hidden in the shadows of the chair, but a burst of energy lit up the ship briefly.

Captain Flint's clawed hands were clenched, like the skeleton was angry at Jim's presence. Jim leaned closer, having seen something gleam between the bone fingers of Captain Flint's right hand.

Grabbing the finger bones, Jim tugged until the ancient bones broke apart and scattered on the deck. Jim caught the metal object that fell and held it up.

It was palm-sized, smooth bronze. It was oval in shape, with one side curving down like the object attached to something. On the underside was a small black box.

Jim stared at the object then looked at B.E.N, whose back was to him as he sniffled over his missing mind. Could it really be…?

"B.E.N, I think I just found your mind," Jim said with a grin. "Hold still."

Before B.E.N could react, Jim slipped down to him and grabbed the side of his head. B.E.N yelped in surprise about Jim's cold hands, but Jim ignored him. He looked at the memory chip and held it over the hold in B.E.N's head. How would he-

The wires in the back of B.E.N's head came to life, reaching out and attaching to the memory box. The piece was snatched from Jim's hand and clicked back into it's proper place.

"Woah!" B.E.N stumbled away, eyes flickering before flashing and settling on a solid blue. "Hello!" He blinked a couple times, then put a hand to his jaw. "You know, Jimmy, I was thinking…"

Jim grinned as B.E.N trailed off. B.E.N blinked, then his eyes widened.

"Think- I was thinking-" B.E.N waved his arms. "It's all flooding back! All my memories! Right up to the moment that Captain Flint pulled my memory circuit so I couldn't tell anyone about his booby trap!"

_Boom!_

Jim heard an explosion about the same time B.E.N's words processed. He looked quickly up to see fire blossom around the base of the biggest stalactite.

"Speaking of which…"

* * *

**A/N: Great timing, B.E.N! XD **


	5. Pick Your Treasure

**A/N: Dang it. I fell behind in my typing, so I don't have next week's chapter ready yet! I'm going to try to get it done, but no promises!**

* * *

"Flint wanted to make sure nobody could ever steal his treasure," B.E.N babbled. "So he rigged this whole planet to blow higher than a Kalepsian kite!"

Jim couldn't answer. He took a step back, then his leg folded under him. He fell to his knees, too full of adrenaline to feel the pain but the jolt startled him back to the present.

He frantically scanned the ancient ship as the sounds of explosions filled the air. He shoved himself to shaky feet, then dragged B.E.N to the ship's railing. All around, pirates stared, frozen, at the ceiling.

Jim braced his hands against the railing, ready to jump to the ground, when a stalactite broke free from the ceiling. It hit the ground and sliced right into it, shaking the ground so hard that Jim nearly lost his balance.

"Make a run for it, Jimmy!" B.E.N screamed, pointing to a clear path to the portal. "Run for your life!"

"Not fast enough," Jim grunted, hand to his side again as he spun. His eyes fell on the ship's console, and a wild idea came to him. "B.E.N, go back and help the Captain and Doc!"

"Wh-what're you gonna do?" B.E.N asked as Jim stumbled to the console.

"Just go!" Jim dropped to the shaking deck and pulled himself under the console to study the wiring. "If I'm not there in five minutes, leave without me!"

"I'm not leaving without my buddy, Jimmy!"

Jim grabbed a wire in either hand, then felt B.E.N's hands grab his ankles and _pull_. Jim bit back a yell of pain, eyes narrowing in a glare of anger when B.E.N hauled him into the open.

"Uh… unless he looks at me… like that." B.E.N grinned uncertainly, then dropped Jim's legs and took off. He yelled back, "Bye, Jim!"

"Just hurry," Jim grunted.

He looked down and saw the two wires in his hands that had gotten jerked out when B.E.N pulled him from under the console. They were spitting sparks.

Jim grinned. So, the ship had power. First bit of luck he'd had all day. He squirmed back under the console. Now he just had to get the ancient ship going again!

* * *

The entire center of the planet was breaking apart! Shoving gold and jewels into his pockets, Silver stood to take stock of what was going on.

Several stalactites had already crashed into the ground, causing massive cracks. Other stalactites spewed energy non-stop, slicing the ground open as the center continued to revolve.

With a jolt of alarm, Silver realized that the ground was tilting and the treasure was spilling into the cracks!

"No!"

Silver dropped to his knees and frantically tried to scoop the treasure back onto even ground. But with nothing solid left, it wasn't long before Silver was scraping the metal floor. Growling in frustration, Silver picked up handfuls of treasure and stood. Where was the crew? They didn't have much time!

Yelling alerted Silver to his crew. He turned to see half of them running through the portal.

"Get back here, you blighters!" Silver yelled, shaking a treasure-filled fist to no avail.

Silver was about to give up and follow the crew, when a new sound arose in the groaning of metal, shriek of energy, and jingle of falling treasure. It was the sound of a sputtering engine.

Silver turned and saw an ancient pirate ship sitting precariously on a broken section of floor. Telescoping his cyborg eye, Silver peered into the ship and saw Jim moving quickly about. The boy was working at the controls, wearing an expression of barely restrained panic.

Silver frowned. Why was he bothering with the old ship, instead of making a run for the _Legacy_? Silver's eye fell on the treasure covering the ship's deck. He grinned.

Shoving the treasure he'd managed to save into his pockets, Silver hurried across the shaking ground. No more cracks opened, but everything was starting to tilt and an unnatural yellow glow was filling the cavern from under the center's floor.

The old ship's engine's flared to life as Silver reached it. Panting for breath, Silver leaped and grabbed onto the ship's railing. He hauled himself onto the railing as the pirate ship lifted up.

"Yes, Morph!" Jim cried, spinning the helm. "We are so out of here!"

Morph chirped cheerfully. Silver caught his breath and smiled.

"Ah, Jimbo!"

Jim and Morph spun, eyes widening.

"If you aren't the seventh wonder of the universe!" Silver said jovially as he dropped to the deck and strode closer.

Moving fast, Jim leaped forward and snatched a sword from a pile of treasure. He whipped it up, point out. Silver barely stopped himself from accidentally impaling himself.

"Get. Back!" Jim spat.

Silver stared down at the sword inches from his stomach. Fury bubbled up within him. He was inches from his treasure, did Jim really think he'd leave it now?

"I like you, lad," Silver said. He lifted narrowed eyes to meet Jim's angry ones, and walked forward. "But I've come too far to let you stand between me and my treasure."

Despite the sword, Jim backed away from Silver's advance. He bumped against the slowly spinning helm, and found himself unable to retreat any further. He pulled the sword against himself, eyes widening in blatant fear.

_Vzzzt!_

A blast of energy came out of nowhere, striking the port side of the ship from below. The ship was shoved into a sudden angle, throwing Silver and Jim off their feet and over the railing.

Silver reached out, and his mechanical hand grabbed the ship's railing. He fell against the side of the ship. He kicked his feet back, toes barely finding a section of intact floor. Silver scrambled to stabilize his footing, then a change in the energy's hum made him look up.

The energy was slicing through the ship!

"Oh, no, you don't!"

Silver planted his feet, closed his eyes, and pulled back with all his strength. The ship moved relatively easy to the side, out of the beam's path to thud against the small platform on which Silver stood. Now he just had to hold the ship long enough to get aboard and… and where was Jim?

Panicked chirping made Silver open his eyes. Morph was frantically waving his little nubs and squeaking.

"What?" Silver panted.

Morph squeaked, pointed, then flew behind Silver. The old cyborg craned his neck to follow Morph's path, and felt his breath catch.

"Jimbo!"

Jim hadn't managed to catch himself when they had been flung off Flint's ship, and had fallen clear off the small section of ground. Lucky for Jim, though, a large section of floor across from him had been shoved high up, creating a wall. The floor was high above, but the wall had sections randomly jutting out, giving Jim handholds.

Not very stable handholds. Silver looked more closely at Jim as his hands slipped. His handholds were barely thick enough for Jim's fingertips to grasp. Jim reached up with his feet in an impressive show of dexterity, but his feet slipped, loosening his grip further.

Silver hurriedly swapped his hand for a clamp, which had a good deal more of reach. Tugging the ship tight against the small platform, Silver braced his feet and reached out. Heat washed over Silver when he leaned over the crack, but he ignored it.

"Reach for me, lad!" Silver bellowed.

Jim turned and caught sight of the pirate. To Silver's surprise, Jim let go with one hand to reach for Silver.

"Yes!" Silver tried to reach further, but the clamp was at its maximum. "Reach!"

"I-" Jim panted. "I can't!"

Their fingers were mere inches apart! Silver looked at Jim's terrified eyes, then Jim abruptly slid out of view.

"Jimbo!"

A yell made Silver realize what had happened. Jim's handhold had slid into the wall, and the boy had fallen further down the wall! Silver focused on Jim's newest handhold, and saw it was sliding into the wall as well.

Silver looked back to the pirate ship. Jim was out of reach now, but Silver could still take Flint's ship away! All he had to do was climb up, take the helm, and get to the portal.

He hesitated. Looked down.

Jim's feet scrambled for a grip, then went limp. Jim flopped against the wall, unmoving aside from his fingers slowly sliding back. He didn't move to save himself.

Silver looked back to the treasure, what he'd been searching for his whole life. Back to Jim, who he'd only met months ago and had been a thorn in his side more often than not. And yet…

"Oh…" Silver growled. "Blast me for a fool!"

On the last word, Silver released Flint's ship and slid down. Catching the corner of the platform with his clamp, Silver swung across open air as Jim finally lost his grip. Jim yelped, then Silver caught his wrist. Silver braced himself, and was steady as Jim's fall was brought to an abrupt halt.

And Jim _screamed._

* * *

**A/N: Is anyone else just wanting to say "ow" right now? Because, owwwww!**


	6. Running on Adrenaline

**A/N: Hm, this chapter turned out longer than the rest. Eh, well, enjoy it because the next chapter is likely going to be shorter than normal. I probably should have just included it here, but the spacing works better with it spread out. Plus, I was incredibly busy this weekend, so I couldn't get my normal typing done.**

**Okay, no more excuses. I had the hardest time figuring out a title for this chapter, when Running on Adrenaline came to me. It's utterly perfect, because that is all Jim is doing in this chapter, really. It kind of fits the following chapter, to...**

* * *

A dozen colorful curses that would have had Silver's dear, departed mother turning over in her grave raced through Silver's mind, a few escaping when Jim thrashed in his grasp. He could practically _see_ the century-old threads tearing at the jolt on the stitches.

"Easy, lad!" Silver yelled. "You're going to fall!"

Jim gave one more wild kick, then dropped limp. Morph gave distressed squeak and nudged Jim, but he didn't respond.

"Blast!"

Silver looked up at his clamp holding the pair of them. He retracted the limb, so his head was level with the platform, then looked back to Jim.

"Jimbo!" Silver lightly shook the boy. "Jimbo, you have to climb up!"

Jim remained unresponsive. Grumbling, Silver checked for a closer ledge to get Jim onto. He didn't spot any ledges, though he did notice something else.

Their platform was breaking.

"Jimbo!" Silver bellowed, eyes on the cracks spreading across the metal. "Blast it, boy, just hang in there!"

Silver slowly swung his arm holding Jim back-and-forth a couple times, building up momentum with each swing. On the fourth time, Silver grit his teeth and swung Jim hard, releasing him so he was flung onto the platform.

A pained cry came from above, but Silver took that as a positive. It meant Jim was conscious.

Silver hooked his now free arm over the edge and hauled himself onto the platform. He stood, bracing his feet against the shaking.

Jim was, thankfully, conscious again. He was on his knees, head bowed with one arm wrapped around his middle. Morph was a half-melted puddle on his shoulder, sniffling.

"Jimbo?"

"What… happened?" Jim huffed out.

"You fainted on me," Silver said, hoping for a fiery response.

Jim grunted and slowly sat up. Silver hid a wince at his pale face and told himself the sweat was just from the warming air.

Jim looked at Flint's ship, which was slowly drifting away, then back to Silver. "You gave it up?"

"It's just a lifelong obsession, Jim. I'll get over it." Silver grunted, rubbing his eyes. "Can you walk? This whole place is going to bits and-"

_Vzzt! Boom!_

Energy hit Flint's ship, and the whole thing exploded. Silver bent over Jim, protecting him from gold coins and wood that was sent flying.

Shaking a bit of burning wood from his coat, Silver looked dejectedly up at the rain of gold. So much for his treasure.

_Crunch!_

The platform dropped a foot, landing on an angle. Silver braced his feet and Jim shot to life, skittering to his feet, expertly balanced while his eyes scanned the area.

"There!" Jim said, pointing across the far end of the platform.

A section of the main floor had crumbled, creating a rough hill to the more solid ground. If they could get to the larger sections of intact floor, they would have a chance at reaching the portal before everything collapsed.

Silver eyed the five-foot gap between their platform and the collapsed section. "Can you make the jump?"

"Just keep up."

Jim crouched and kicked into a running start. His launch off their platform was a bit messy, but strong enough to propel him across the gap. His landing was equally messy, feet skittering sideways and sliding until his hands found solid ground to catch.

"Come on!" Jim had the audacity to yell back at Silver. "We have to hurry!"

"Young whelp," Silver grunted. He managed a quick start and leaped the gap, landing in a crouch with his clamp catching a bit of ground to steady himself. "I didn't give up my treasure to let you kill yourself!"

Jim smirked up at him with too-bright eyes. "I've jumped bigger gaps!"

"With an injury like that?"

Jim glanced at his side, then the rumbling ground cut off the conversation. The pair sprang to their feet and climbed to solid ground.

The core was a mess by then. Huge chasms had opened up, and fragments of stalactites littered the floor. Boiling red liquid was bubbling out of several wells, melting the floor as it spread.

Without bothering to waste time talking, Silver and Jim took off. Luckily for them, the ground was solid. They only had to skirt a pool of the bubbling liquid, then they leaped onto the platform.

Jim made a pained sound as his feet hit the platform. Silver's arm shot out, barely catching the boy.

"I'm okay!" Jim protested, even as his legs crumbled under him.

"Sure you are, lad," Silver said, hauling Jim through the portal.

Silver had been hoping that, somehow, the aboveground of the planet would still be intact, but luck was still against them. The ground was splitting worse than the core, and much of the plant life was in flames.

Silver turned toward the smoldering fungus where they'd left the skiff, but halted. The ground around the portal had broken away, once again stranding the pair on a platform.

"Hang on, lad," Silver muttered, wondering if he could leap the ten-foot gap with Jim hanging on him.

"B.E.N?" Jim mumbled.

Silver looked at Jim in concern, and realized the boy was staring up. Following his gaze, Silver gave an incredulous laugh at the sight of the _Legacy_ lowering toward them. B.E.N was leaning over the rail, yelling something indiscernible over the engines.

"Here's our escape, lad," Silver said, half-dragging Jim to the platform's edge as the _Legacy _edged closer.

"Hurry, people!" B.E.N yelled, audible once the ship's railing was level with the platform. "We've got exactly two minutes and thirty-four seconds before planet destruction."

"Ah, this hunt just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it," Silver muttered to Jim.

The _Legacy_ drifted closer to the platform, then suddenly jerked sideways. It slammed into the platform, nearly throwing Silver off his feet. Silver, though, took the opportunity of the _Legacy'_s closeness.

Scooping Jim's feet up with his other hand, Silver threw the boy into the ship. Ignoring Jim's cry, Silver made an ungainly leap forward and narrowly caught the ship's railing as it was jerked away from the platform.

Silver hauled himself over the railing and dropped with a huff beside Jim. He was getting too old for these narrow escapes.

"Is this your first time driving?" Silver snapped.

Silver looked up at the helm to see… the doctor. The doctor he _knew_ had never flown a ship before.

"Ah, fates have mercy on us all," Silver muttered.

At least someone was directing the doctor to fly towards open space, though that was getting increasingly hard to track as sections of ground were shoved upward by the force of the exploding center and the doctor had to avoid the random bursts of energy shooting from the core.

One section scraped the bottom of the ship, throwing everyone sideways. Silver caught Jim's arm before he could slide off, and his eyes caught sight of the captain as she leaned against the railing above.

She'd be the one deciding his fate once they escaped this death trap. And the exploding planet.

"Ah, Cap'n," Silver called up, figuring he might as well start now. "You dropped from the heavens just in the nick of-"

"Save your claptrap for the judge, Silver," Amelia said, cutting him off with an upraised nose. She stalked off, probably deeming him unimportant to her just then.

...right.

"Jim!" the doctor called down.

"He's here!" Silver called, because the doctor had taken his eyes off the path and was staring at the deck. "Just get us out of here before we all die!"

Delbert scowled at Silver, but returned his focus to his driving. Thanking the heavens for small miracles, Silver turned his attention back to Jim.

Jim's brief bout of energy had obviously failed him. He slumped against the railing, arms curled around his middle and breath hissing through his teeth. Morph floated beside him, giving worried chirps.

"I'll live," Jim grumbled when Silver knelt beside him. "Where's the doctor and captain?"

"At the helm," Silver said, ignoring the fact that Jim hadn't even heard his conversations. "Let me see the stitches now."

Jim pushed Silver's hand away and tugged his jacket tighter around his middle. "Who's driving?"

"Doctor's driving us."

Jim huffed out a laugh. "We're dead."

Morph chirped, then cheerfully repeated, "We're dead! We're-"

_Crack!_

Silver and Jim flinched at the loud crack of wood. Silver raised a hand over their heads as their gazes whipped up. A piece of something had ripped through a mast, sending the top half toppling toward the deck!

Jim sprang sideways. Silver followed scooping the boy after his momentum slowed. The pair tumbled to a stop beside the stairs as the wood crashed down in a screech of metal.

Silver lifted his head as the _Legacy_'s speed slowed. The piece of mast had landed on the on-deck cannon, crushing it.

"Back thruster decapacitated, Captain," B.E.N rambled, presenting the newest issue. Silver looked up to see the bot typing rapidly on his chest panel. "Thrusters are at thirty percent."

"Thirty percent? That means…" the doctor looked Amelia. "We'll never clear the planet's explosion in time."

Everyone fell silent at that. With a third of the ship's power and less than two minutes to go, Silver knew there wasn't any chance at escape.

"The portal."

Leave it to Jim to not accept death as an option.

Silver eyed the boy as Jim hauled himself to his feet. "What?"

"The portal. We can use it to get out of here!" Jim snapped, staggering toward the wreckage.

"Pardon me, Jim," Delbert started calmly, though his voice rapidly rose."But doesn't that portal lead to a blazing inferno?!"

Silver looked over the railing, cybernetic eye homing in on the portal. "That's sure death!"

"Maybe." Jim grunted. "But I can open a different door!"

Silver's eyes switched to the map. Sure, it was possible, but how did Jim plan on reaching the map? Hanging off the bow of the ship?

Silver turned at a clatter of metal. Jim had pulled a piece of metal as tall as him from the destroyed cannon, and was trying to pry the cylinder of the cannon free.

Heaving a sigh, Silver pushed Jim away and jerked the cylinder to the deck. Jim scooted the metal sheet toward the cylinder, and grabbed a piece of lifeline from the deck.

"What are you up to, Jimbo?" Silver asked.

"Solar sail," Jim grunted. "Without the sail, but the barrel is crushed, so the energy should give me thrust enough to fly."

Silver took a second to process that, while B.E.N screamed that they had one and a half minutes left.

"Are you crazy?" Silver asked.

"It's our only chance," Jim said, looking up at Silver. "This will take me to the map fast enough. Help me!"

Silver stared for a precious second, then shoved Jim back. Switching his arm to a blowtorch, Silver soon had the cylinder welded to the metal. Jim nodded and grabbed one side of the improvised sail, and Silver grabbed the other. They heaved together.

"There you go!" Silver grunted as they raised the contraption.

"There you go!" Morph chirped, shoving his head against the bottom of the sail.

The trio set the sail on the railing, and Jim scrambled onto it. At the same time, Delbert noticed what his charge was doing.

"Jim!"

"Turn the ship toward the portal!" Jim shoved a shaking foot into a tear in the metal for a foothold. "I'm going to open a portal to someplace away from here. Just trust me!"

Delbert scrambled for an argument, but Jim didn't wait to hear it. As B.E.N called one minute left, Jim locked eyes with Silver. For the first time in this whole mess, fear was alight in his gaze.

"Whatever happens, keep the ship headed straight for that portal. I'm getting you all home."

"You watch yourself, lad," Silver muttered. "You need to get home to your mother, too."

Jim gave Silver a grim smile, then straightened. HIs face clenched. One foot flicked back, kicking the trigger and causing a flare of fire from the crushed barrel.

Silver flinched back as the burst of energy shot Jim into space, but focused on the boy. His cyborg eye found Jim, following his path as he arced around the _Legacy_.

Silver's breath caught. When Jim turned, his jacket blew loosely around him, giving Silver a clear view at the bloom of red in the bandages.

"Jimbo!" Silver bellowed.

Jim's head twitched toward Silver, then he dove out of sight.


	7. Soar

**A/N: I was having the hardest time figuring out what to call Jim's improvised solar sail. Codylabs helped me fill that brain blank. "Board" is way better, don't you think?**

* * *

_Crouch, arms in, eyes forward… and don't think._

Instinct and habit were the only things keeping Jim from crashing into planet fragments. His legs moved automatically to avoid metal and energy blasts, and his body leaned to follow.

Spotting the portal straight ahead, Jim dove. Leaving behind the sporadic debris and blasts, Jim found himself in an ever-shifting environment of metal. Duck under toppling column, weave through blasts, dodge crumbling debris, slip through a tiny crack.

It was just like the coal yard.

The board struck a piece of metal, breaking Jim's fragile concentration. His eyes widened as a shock distracted him long enough to rebound off another part of the planet. He threw his body sideways to get back on course.

Angling the board over an explosion of metal, Jim became all too aware of the warmth on his left side. He pressed an elbow against it, feeling wet seep through the thick cloth. He blinked rapidly against a darkness pressing against the corners of his vision.

"Not now," Jim huffed to himself. "Not. Now!"

The final word was punctuated by the board sputtering. Jim kicked the trigger, bracing himself for the surge in speed… instead he slowed.

Jim looked hurriedly back, panic surging with a vengeance when he saw no fire from the cylinder. He could feel his momentum rapidly slowing.

"No, no!" Jim stomped repeatedly on the trigger, but the final shell was jammed! "Come on!"

His jacket slapped him in the face, startling him enough to look up. Steep metal walls surrounded him. They were rapidly rising, the wind coming from below strong enough to make it seem as though Jim was...

_No!_

"Come _on!_"

Jim got no burst of energy to stop his descent. He stared past the useless board, to the boiling center below. His eyes rose to the wall slipping quickly past him, then an insane idea came to him.

Not wanting to second-guess himself, Jim slipped his foot out of his foothold. He leaped up, flicking his foot so the board spun under him. He landed firmly on the board, which now faced the opposite way. Jerking his body to the side, Jim slammed the end of the cylinder against the wall.

Sparks flew and an awful screech of metal on metal filled Jim's ears. His feet were braced hard against the resistance of the wall. The force vibrated him violently, shooting bolts of pain though his entire battered body.

The cylinder caught on something, wrenching Jim sharply. The ragged scream from Jim was drowned out as the friction finally caused enough heat for the final shell to burst.

Slamming one foot against the back of the board, Jim grabbed the front. He shot straight up, coming out of the crevasse seconds after the _Legacy_ flew across. Turning his ascent horizontal, Jim raced across the exploding planet.

Dodging debris, Jim pulled up alongside the _Legacy_. He crouched on the board, groaning loudly against the stress the position put on his side. He blinked back the darkness, squinted against the blinding light of the portal ahead.

He inched ahead of the _Legacy_, practically folded in half as he reached desperately out. Feet from the portal, Jim stabbed a finger down, body twisting backwards to ensure his finger would contact. His feet slipped.

Then he was airborne.

Hurtling at break-neck speeds, Jim tumbled head-over-heels through the portal. He got random flashes of fire, the _Legacy_, clear night. It was nauseating, and Jim could barely get his thoughts moving already. He needed to move now, the _Legacy_ was right-

A crack of skull against wood, and Jim knew no more.

* * *

Silver stared at Montressor Spaceport, dead ahead. Behind the _Legacy_, there was a flare of light, abruptly cutting off as the explosions destroyed the portal. Debris flew silently past the ship.

Everyone on deck was silent, though there was the sound of muffled cheering from below. Silver vaguely wondered who of his crew had survived, but there were more pressing matters to deal with.

"Doctor, stop the ship." Amelia's voice was professional, breaking everyone from their daze.

Silver turned as Delbert slowed the _Legacy_ to a halt. Delbert released white-knuckled hands from the helm and shook them, glancing at Amelia as she walked slowly to the rail. Morph was frozen, eyes wide and staring. B.E.N clutched his chest panel in rusty fingers, blinking at the data on the screen.

"Jim," Silver said.

Delbert and B.E.N flinched, then scanned the debris-filled sky. There was no sign of the boy or his board.

"B.E.N, contact Montressor Spaceport," Amelia said. "We need doctors… and the authorities."

Silver grumbled under his breath, but was oddly distracted from his impending imprisonment. While B.E.N fiddled with the radio, Silver scanned the sky. In a short time, his cyborg eye picked up a familiar shape.

"Jim!" Silver said, pointing.

The board was gone, leaving the boy floating limply in space. He didn't move, even when the doctor practically howled his name.

"Get this ship to port," Silver said, moving for the stairs. "I'll take a skiff and get the boy."

Amelia slid in front of Silver with the usual silence of a Felid. Her eyes were narrowed and she had her chin drawn up.

Silver halted, wondering if she'd insist he stayed aboard. Even injured as she was, a Felid moved faster than an old cyborg. If she proved stubborn, Silver wouldn't be going anywhere.

"Bring Jim back," Amelia said shortly, then stepped to the side.

"Aye, I'll bring the cabin boy back," Silver huffed, clomping below.

Silver -with a bit of help from Morph- got the skiff launched and headed to where Silver had spotted Jim.

Jim didn't react to the skiff pulling alongside him, or Silver pulling him into the small craft. Silver felt for a pulse, breathing out when he found one. It was weak, but at least it was there. He clipped Jim into a harness so he wouldn't drift off.

"There, I've got the boy," Silver muttered, glancing back at the _Legacy_. He huffed. "Just look at them, watching me. Like I would take off with you."

Jim groaned and shifted, stilling when Silver put a hand on his head.

"Wish I could, lad. Think of the adventures we could have, eh? Like I'd choose a cage over a life of freedom and adventure with you."

Morph whined. Silver sighed and patted him, then turned the skiff back toward the _Legacy_. He tied the skiff loosely to the railing. Picking up Jim, Silver maneuvered the two of them over the railing and onto the deck.

"Here you go, Jimbo," Silver said, settling Jim on the deck. He started to move away, but Jim had grabbed his hand at some point and didn't let go. "Jimbo?"

"Don't…" Jim moaned, eyes clenched and teeth grit. "Don' go."

"I don't have much choice, lad," Silver said, looking up.

Delbert had finished with the radio and hurried for the stairs, leaving B.E.N at the helm. Amelia stood at the foot of the steps, watching Silver with an unreadable expression.

Just as Delbert reached the bottom of the steps, Amelia's expression changed. Her face clenched in pain, and she gave a groan as she fell to her knees.

"Captain!" Delbert yelped, stumbling to a stop.

Silver stared as Delbert helped the captain straighten. His hands worried over her side, but Amelia's attention was on Silver. Almost imperceptibly, her head twitched to the side.

Silver stood, slightly hampered by Jim's remaining grasp. Silver paused to tug at Jim's hands, watching as the captain made another motion toward space.

"Let go," Silver muttered. He wrenched his hand away.

Jim whimpered something sounding close to, "Don't go!"

Silver leaned down to whisper, "I'll be back, lad. Just you get better."

Scooping a handful of treasure from his pocket, Silver shoved the jewels and coins into Jim's searching hands. With Jim's unconscious whimpers briefly quieted by his full hands, Silver swung back into the skiff. Morph, after giving Jim's face one last lick, flew into Silver's pocket.

Amelia, aided by Delbert, stood as Silver untied the skiff. Silver tilted his hat to her, laughing when Amelia gave him a glare with no real fire.

"Take care of the cabin boy, doctor. He might be a spacer, yet!" Silver spun the skiff around and took off. Quietly, he promised to space, "I'll be back, Jimbo."

* * *

**A/N: Originally, Silver was going to take Jim to a small asteroid or something to have the "come with me" conversation. Then I realized that Jim is in way too bad of shape by this point, and keeping him from medical attention for so long would be too much. So, conversation for another time!**

**Quick poll! There's whump/angst in the next bit already, but do you want the little whump/angst or the big whump/angst? Has Jim suffered enough?**


	8. They Say Don't Go

**A/N: The disjointedness of this chapter was intentional... mostly. It was originally going to be called "Fever Dreams" but I couldn't get that style sorted out. So this happened.**

* * *

_"Stay,"_ was Jim's first thought.

The idea was a little hard to portray, though, when everything was stiff and blurred. He might have said something, but his ears were ringing, too.

All he knew was, he had Silver, and he wasn't letting go. He wasn't letting another person leave him, not this time.

Except his fingers were fickle things just then. A twist, then Silver was gone. He said something then, voice slurred even to himself.

"I'll be back, lad," said Silver, sounding far off. "Just you get better."

Come back? Just _don't go!_

Something fill his hands, all warm and metallic and round. Silver's metal hand? But then they slipped through his fingers, and Jim knew Silver was gone.

Gone, and only leaving empty promises he'd long since learned meant nothing.

* * *

Voices roused Jim, though he wasn't sure how much time had passed. The captain was talking, giving a round of her "fancy flim-flammery," as Jim had once heard Silver quietly mock. He wanted to go back to the quiet darkness, when someone mentioned Silver.

"Gone," the captain said shortly. "Likely won't see him again."

A moaning filled Jim's ears, startling the speakers into silence.

"Jim!" the doctor cried.

The sound was him, Jim realized. He struggled to ask where Silver had gone, then gave up and let everything fade.

* * *

"He's very weak, Sarah."

"I don't understand, Delbert. What happened to my boy?"

"He was in a fight. The doctors are saying he has a concussion, broken bones… and a nasty infection. They said it was a miracle he made it so long."

Pressure on his hand, then his mother's voice. "Stay with me, Jim."

How could he stay when no one had ever taught him how? All he knew was how to go.

* * *

The next time he roused, Jim was on fire.

He tried to push away, his stiff limbs instead writhing him sideways. His side hit something solid and unyielding, blocking him from getting away.

Voices, distorted and odd, rose over him. Burning cold touched his arm, and Jim flinched away with a yell. The cold persisted, and Jim lashed out with jerky movements.

"Jim! Jim, please…"

His mom's voice made him still. He struggled to open his eyes, but blinding lights had them clenching shut again. He moaned as hands lifted him, but his mom's voice soothed him until he was laid on something soft.

He was left alone then, in the heat and darkness. But when he moved, a cool hand was laid on his. He shifted his hand, turning to clutch the other.

"Don't go…"

The words were practically a whimper, but fingers tightened on his. His mom whispered that she was never leaving.

Then she was gone.

Jim groped blindly for his mother's hand, finding nothing but tangled cloth. His breath quickened as Jim realized he was alone. Some alarm, warning something was wrong, screamed in his ear. He was alone. Danger. He was alone!

"Mr. Hawkins!"

The hand finding his was too slim, too clawed, but Jim grabbed it like a lifeline. He relaxed, relieved to no longer be alone, even when the alarm stopped. It was okay now.

"Er… very well, then."

After that, Jim never found his hands empty again. Odd, how the shape in his hands so often changed in size and texture, but he found comfort in no longer being alone.

* * *

Jim was later told it was two weeks before his recurring fever finally broke for good. He conveniently woke while Amelia was discussing Silver's disappearance, upsetting the exhausted, out of it boy into breaking down. Jim barely remembered the fit, and was stuck with the lingering sense of abandonment for almost a week.

Nobody mentioned Silver after that.

Jim regretted his fit, even if he'd mentally been too out of it to think straight. He wanted to make sure Silver at least hadn't been caught. Sure, Silver was a pirate and had almost gotten him, the doctor, and the captain killed, but he wasn't bad. At least, not to Jim.

When Captain Amelia mentioned the Interstellar Academy, Jim leaped at the chance. He was still in the hospital -Delbert had informed him that the doctors weren't sure how Jim had held out for so long with his injuries- but Amelia was able to pull some strings to allow Jim to take the book tests in the hospital. She said he'd easily shown the flying requirements of the Academy.

Jim threw himself into this new challenge. He'd had a taste of the stars, and only wanted more. Maybe, as his mom put it, he'd be able to fly to his heart's content without the law constantly on his tail. He knew his mom wanted it, the doctor and captain wanted it, _he _wanted it!

Now he had something to distract him from what he'd lost in his adventure.


	9. The Things We've Lost (And Those Gained)

**A/N: I tried. I won't say with what because it's a spoiler, but I did. I'm absurdly proud of this chapter, actually.**

* * *

It was four months before Silver and Morph headed back to Montressor.

While he longed to return sooner, Silver couldn't have risked it. With the military scouring space for him, Silver had been forced to lay low in one of his old hideouts.

But he kept up on the news surrounding the discovery of Treasure Planet. Doctor Delbert had published the findings and photos from the planet of myth and the stories told by Captain Amelia had become famous.

Jim was a bit harder to track. Silver found weeks old news snippets announcing Jim was being accepted into the prestigious Interstellar Academy, despite still recovering from his adventures.

Silver had laughed at that. He'd known Jim would be one to rattle the stars one day, and how better than to join the military? Silver hoped he'd never find himself on opposing sides against Jim.

With any luck, any path crossing between him and Jim wouldn't involve cuffs. Silver had given up his life of pirating. With a pocketful of treasure he'd kept, Silver would be comfortable for years. Until he got bored again.

But now, Silver had no thoughts of pirating on his mind. The authorities had lessened their search for him, going after more recent threats and probably assuming Silver was a long, long ways off.

Silver worked his way toward Montressor, paying his passage by working as a cook on cargo and low-class ships. It took two months, but Silver finally stepped onto Montressor six months after returning from Treasure Planet.

Morph chirped and flew circles around Silver while he wandered through the small town to which the ferry had brought them. Silver asked around for the Benbow Inn, and was easily pointed in the right direction.

Silver meandered up the path toward the Inn, munching on a purp he'd purchased from a street vendor. He hummed. Jim was right, Montressor grew some good purps.

By the time Silver reached the Inn, it was late. Just as well. Though he'd heard in town that Jim wouldn't be leaving for the Academy until next week, Silver wasn't sure if the boy would want to see him.

Silver paused at the end of the path. Festive lights and streamers were strung around on the Inn, and there was a lot of cheerful chatter coming from the building. A sign hung on the door, saying "Closed for private occasion." A banner reading "Congratulations, Jim!" hung over the door.

Silver smiled. It appeared that he was just in time for Jim's going-away party. He briefly entertained the thought of joining the party, but decided against it. If there was anyone official at the party, Silver would just find himself on the run again. Maybe if he found a way to bring just Jim outside…

"Morphy," Silver said, getting the morph's attention. "Do you think you can get Jim out back?"

Morph saluted, giving a small, "Aye-yi, Captain!"

While Morph squirmed through the crack under the door, Silver rounded the Inn. He found a large, dark yard behind the Inn and settled in the shadows of a small shed.

As the minutes passed, Silver started to worry. Perhaps Jim wasn't keen on seeing the pirate who had nearly gotten him killed -multiple times. Maybe now that he was going to a fancy-pancy Academy, he didn't have time for an old pirate.

Before Silver could wallow in his depressing thoughts for long, a lean figure slipped out of the Inn's back door.

Silver smiled at the sight of Jim. In the brief glimpse before the Inn's light had been blocked again by the door, Silver saw he was wearing a cadet uniform. Morph was snuggling on his head, messing up his neatly combed hair.

His smile slipped, though, as Jim got closer and he saw the boy was using a walking stick. He wasn't leaning heavily, more like he was favoring the limp in his left leg.

Silver stepped out from behind the shed. "Jimbo."

Jim started, but Silver could see his broad grin in the moonlight. "Silver, you came back!"

"I said I was, lad," Silver said. He circled Jim, smiling when Jim straightened himself proudly. "I had to make sure you made it all in one piece, now."

Silver chuckled a bit. He glanced at his metal arm, considering how his adventures had gone at times.

His mood sobered once again when Jim slouched. "What is it, lad?"

Jim sighed as Morph gave a sad warble. "I didn't."

"What?"

Jim let the walking stick drop, then used both hands to pull up his left pant leg. Silver inhaled sharply.

From the knee down, Jim's leg was gone. In its place was a complex gadget of poles, nuts, bolts, and gears. It was fancier and shinier than Silver's, he noted, even complete with a foot-shaped section that moved on its own accord.

"Dr. Doppler has friends in robotics," Jim said. "I've made some tweaks, too."

"How did it happen?" Silver asked.

"By the time I got to a hospital, infection had set into my leg." Jim shrugged. "I don't remember anything after the portal until two weeks later. I got this last month."

Jim acted nonchalant, but his voice was a little too flat and he wouldn't meet Silver's eyes. Besides, Silver knew from experience what it was like to lose a limb.

And, blast, did he wish for words of comfort.

Silver gave a thoughtful hum. "Trying to best ol' Silver, eh?"

Jim looked up at him, confused. Smirking, Silver lifted his tarnished peg of a leg and placed it beside Jim's shiny new one. Jim snorted.

"I'm one limb away from being considered a cyborg," Jim returned.

"Oh, bless me ticker, the terms used to be three limbs or two and an eye," Silver said, placing a dramatic hand over his heart.

"Navy cadets get special permission," Jim said, completely serious.

Silver stared at Jim. He'd been joking; Jim knew that, right? Except Jim's expression didn't change. Maybe he was serious, Silver didn't even realize there was a mandatory-

Jim grinned.

"So, you have a sense of humor, do you?" Silver asked, bumping Jim's shoulder with a fist. "Something you learn at the Academy?"

Jim perked up. "You heard?"

"Everyone from the Lagoon Nebula to the Zenith Ports have heard. The lad who discovered Flint's lost treasure is joining the Academy!"

Though, Jim's metal leg had somehow missed everyone's attention. Silver supposed treasure and a new cadet who was unmistakably going places took priority to the storytellers over what he'd sacrificed getting there.

"I'll be patrolling space soon enough," Jim said. "You'd better watch yourself, you old cyborg."

Silver chuckled. "'Old' is right. I'm getting too old to be chased around by whelps like you."

Jim started. "Huh?"

"I've given up pirating," Silver said with a shrug. "Not that I had a crew or ship to my name, anyway."

"You can do that?" Jim sounded genuinely confused. "Just give up being a pirate?"

"Normally, no," Silver allowed. "But seeing as how I'm my own captain, I won't have someone chasing me down to bring me back."

"What about the navy?" Jim asked.

"Eh, only an issue if any of them were to realize just who I was." Silver lowered his voice. "So I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone I was here."

"Of course." Jim looked down. "Will I be able to see you after I join the navy?"

Silver waved a hand carelessly. "By then, no one will remember me. Just don't introduce me to your friends as the cyborg who mutinied your treasure hunt."

Jim smirked. "But it would make such a good story!"

"Jim!" someone called.

Silver and Jim jumped. Jim quickly turned and waved.

"Right here, Mom!"

Jim's mother, standing at the open door, put a hand on her hip. "Who's that out there with you?"

"A friend," Jim said.

"Well, don't stand out there in the dark," Jim's mother said with laughter in her voice. "Come in!"

"Ah, well, I was just leaving…" Silver trailed off.

Jim's mother stepped to the side, probably for a better angle. Once she wasn't directly in line with the light from the door, Silver was able to make out her features a bit. He saw her confusion clear to realization.

"Don't go on my account," Jim's mother said, stepping halfway inside again. "Take as long as you need."

"Thanks, Mom," Jim called, waving. He turned back to Silver. "We told her about you."

"And she didn't come after me with a frying pan?" Silver asked. Jim had told him a story of his mother doing that when a seedy man had tried to recruit Jim for less-than-legal transport. How was pirating any different?

"You saved my life, Silver," Jim said, shaking his head. "Mom sees that."

Silver decided to not argue that Jim's life wouldn't have needed saving if it hadn't been for him in the first place. Surely Jim and his mother saw this, and were ignoring it.

"Well, I best be going before anyone else comes to check on us," Silver decided. He glanced down at what they had been mostly ignoring. "Make sure you let the leg breathe some, alright?"

Jim nodded. "That's what the doctors said."

"Nasty business if you don't," Silver said, wrinkling his nose. "But, a good metal leg will serve you well on your adventures."

Jim dropped his head, suddenly quiet. He mumbled something.

"Eh? Speak up, lad."

"I can't climb." The words are a whisper, but Silver heard it. "I can't… can't feel what's under that… foot. It always slips off or get stuck. In rope or wood or metal. I fall a lot when I'm trying to walk. That's why I use the cane."

Silver clamped firm hands on Jim's small shoulders. "You'll figure it out, Jimbo. If you could duck me to get out of cleaning the galley, you'll figure out how to work your new leg. You'll be scurrying up masts like a Bavanian monkey in no time."

Jim gave him a slight smile. Silver wondered -not for the first time- what in the universe he'd done to get Jim to look up to him.

"You'd better," Silver went on. "You can't crew a ship if you can't climb a mast, and I expect you to come visit an old cyborg to keep him company."

Jim laughed. "You want me to make sure you don't get lonely?"

"Or bored," Silver added. "We'll set up another adventure! One with less shooting and exploding planets."

"Well, that sounds uncharacteristically dull," Jim said.

"I carried you off an exploding planet once. I don't think I could pull it off a second time."

"I'll be carrying you next time, in other words?"

Silver looked up and down Jim's scrawny frame. "I'd like to see you try."

Jim looked at his hands, like he was trying to decide whether or not he actually could. Silver chuckled and ruffled his hair, dislodging Morph. Jim ducked away with a grin. Silver bowed his head and stepped back.

"Well… I guess you're off, then?" Jim asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Aye, lad. I'm pushing my luck as it is," Silver said with a slight sigh. He rubbed his eyes, muttering, "Got a bit of grease here…"

"Silver."

Silver glanced up in time to see Jim throw himself forward. Silver staggered a bit at the harsh and abrupt hug, but quickly returned it.

The pair stood there for a long moment, tightly holding one another. Silver felt Jim's hand, bunched in a fist around his coat, pressing against his back. He cleared his throat and they abruptly broke apart, both rubbing at shining eyes.

Morph, suddenly realizing they were leaving, sniffled. He gave a little sob and literally dissolved into tears. Jim caught the puddle that Morph had become and gave him a smile.

"It's okay, Morph," Jim said. Morph's eyes appeared in the puddle. "I'll see you around."

Morph reformed with a sniffle, repeating, "See you around." He licked Jim's face, then raced to Silver's shoulder.

Silver sighed and patted the little blob. He looked at Jim, who was steadfastly blinking across the yard, then back to Morph. An idea came to him.

"Morphy." Silver scooped his companion off his shoulder. "I have a job for you."

Morph perked up a bit with a curious warble.

"I've seen Jim try to work a navigation system. Even if I flat-out gave him coordinates, it would take him months to figure them out."

Jim raised an eyebrow, but didn't protest. Silver wasn't totally wrong.

"He needs a guide, when it's time to take to the stars." Silver dipped his head down. "Can you do it, Morphy?"

Morph gave a delighted squeak. He rubbed against Silver's face, then darted over to Jim. The boy looked startled, then delighted when Morph settled into his hands.

A single tear managed to track down Silver's face before he swiped it away and turned. He mentally scolded himself; Jim said they'd come to visit and he was holding him to that. He started walking away, but paused when Jim called out.

"Hey."

Silver turned.

"Stay out of trouble." Jim smiled. "Ya old scalawag."

"Why, Jim." Silver removed his hat to gesture vaguely. "When have I ever done otherwise?"

Jim and Morph shaking with laughter were the last things Silver saw before he turned and walked away into the darkness.

* * *

**A/N: This is the end! Sort of! I've got a tiny epilogue to post real fast, then it's done. **

**What did you all think of it? This is one of the stories with the longest planning put into it. 0w0**


	10. Epilogue

_Four years later..._

_Thump! Clack! Thump! Clack!_

_Worn leather and polished metal rhythmically strike the deck as the young man races across the deck. He skids into a turn, ducking under a large crate being carried by two cadets then straightens back into a run._

_"Hey, Jim!" One of the cadets yell. "Where's the fire?"_

_Jim barks a laugh and waves a hand. "Tell you when I get back!"_

_Jim looks ahead in time to leap around another graduating cadet and his family._

_"What's the rush!" his schoolmate calls._

_"I've only got a month!" Jim yells back._

_He runs all the way to his ship, the Sarah. Ignoring the gangplank, he leaps into his tiny ship. He clutches to mast to stop and hold himself up as he pants, mouth split in a grin._

_A pink blob flies from his pocket and nudges his cheek, giving delighted chirps. Jim laughs and straightens. He goes to the rail and leans against it, catching his breath._

_"We've got one month, Morph," Jim says. "You really think Silver will be waiting?"_

_Morph chirps. Jim laughs and strokes his side._

_He's got one month. One month before he joins the Star Chaser, a navy ship. One month of leave, then he's officially joined the navy._

_He's got one month, and he's going to spend it all with Silver._

* * *

**A/N: Just kind of wanted to establish that Jim did return to have an adventure with Silver. **


End file.
